Build AI Products with a $0 Tech Stack Using Gemini and Supabase
Job to be done: Build and deploy AI-powered products with a minimal or zero cost tech stack
🇳🇬 Ways to use this in Nigeria
Ideas to get you started, adapt to your situation.
- Entrepreneur
Launch an AI-powered MVP for your content creation platform, like a tool that generates Instagram captions for local businesses, using free tools to keep development costs at zero.
- Student
Develop a simple AI-powered JAMB practice app or a personalized study assistant for your classmates, using free cloud services for your final year project or a side hustle.
- 9-5 employee
Prototype an internal AI tool for your team, such as a document summarizer for meeting minutes or a simple chatbot for HR FAQs, without needing a budget approval.
What this is, in plain English
To ship an AI product you normally need several pieces: somewhere to write code, a database to store data, a way to log users in, an AI model, and somewhere to host it all. Each of those usually costs money. This workflow is one developer’s “$0 stack”: a set of tools that each have a real free tier, combined so you can build and launch a small AI product without paying anything.
A “tech stack” just means the collection of tools and services a product is built on. Be honest about the level: it is friendlier than building everything from scratch, but you are still assembling a real product, so expect to be comfortable following technical setup. This page explains what the stack is, what you can build with it, and the realistic order of putting it together.
What you can use it for
- A free MVP. Launch the first version of an AI tool (a caption generator, a niche assistant) at zero cost to test if people want it.
- Student projects. A JAMB practice app or study assistant for a final-year project without paying for cloud services.
- Internal prototypes. A meeting-notes summarizer or an HR FAQ bot for your team, with no budget approval needed.
- Learning the full picture. Building one small product end to end teaches how the database, login, AI, and hosting pieces fit together.
Tools you need
- Google’s AntiGravity (free): an AI coding environment (an “IDE”, the place you write and run code) you use in the browser.
- SuperDocs (free): generates documentation for your project.
- Supabase (freemium): a ready-made backend, it gives you a database and more without you running a server. Its free Nano plan covers basic needs.
- Stack Auth (freemium): handles user sign-up and login. The free tier supports up to 10,000 users.
- Gemini (freemium) and AI Studio (freemium): the AI brain and the place to test prompts with it.
- Replit (freemium): an online place to build, run, and host your app. The author found it gave the best results of the tools they tried.
How it actually works
You sign up for each free service and wire them together. The realistic order:
- Open your coding space. Start in Google’s AntiGravity (or Replit) in your browser, this is where you build.
- Set up the database. Create a Supabase project on the free Nano plan; it stores your app’s data.
- Add login. Use Stack Auth so users can sign up and sign in securely, without you building auth from scratch.
- Wire in the AI. Use Gemini through AI Studio to test your prompts, then call it from your app for the smart features.
- Build and host on Replit. Develop and run the app in Replit, which can also host it so others can use it.
- Document as you go. Use SuperDocs to keep notes and documentation for your project.
Words you’ll see, explained
- Tech stack: the set of tools and services your product is built on.
- IDE: Integrated Development Environment, the place you write and run code (AntiGravity and Replit are IDEs here).
- Backend / backend-as-a-service: the behind-the-scenes part (database, logins); Supabase gives it to you ready-made.
- Authentication (auth): verifying who a user is, sign-up and login (Stack Auth’s job).
- LLM: large language model, the AI behind Gemini.
- Deploy / host: putting your app online so other people can use it (Replit does this).
Original source
Based on a Hacker News post by Udit describing a near-zero-cost stack for building and shipping AI products, after trying several tools and settling on this combination.
Notes & variations
- Do you even need all of these? No. The core is one coding space, Supabase, and Gemini. Add login, docs, and the rest only when your product needs them.
- Free-tier focus: watch your usage on Supabase and Stack Auth so you stay inside the free limits as your project grows.
- Common pitfall: leaning on one tool without knowing its limits. The author tested several before choosing; do the same rather than assuming the first one fits.
- Tip for better results: use AI Studio to refine your Gemini prompts before wiring them into the app, so the AI features work well from the start.